Some of the commenters and even some experts have framed this incident as just an expression of free speech, our First Amendment right. No biggie. Nothing to see here, move along.

Yes, and free speech has consequences as the frat boys found out. If they were allowed to remain in school, their safety could not be guaranteed. Talk about yelling "fire" in a crowded theater. They would be stampeded.

Amid the vile online comments, I was amused by this one: "Dear Oklahoma. Thanks so much for giving us a day off as the punchline state. We needed the rest. Love, Mississippi and Alabama."

Coincidentally, the SAE, no stranger to controversy, was established in 1856 at the University of Alabama, which fought long and hard to exclude African-Americans from attending that school.

It's not surprising that frat guys acted this way. Fraternities have always been known for their juvenile behavior, degrading initiations and hazing incidents that "bond" the boys to think and act as a group, not as individuals. In essence, they're the opposite of what a college education represents.

Of course, Oklahoma is certainly not alone with racial issues. In fact most, if not all, major institutions of higher learning have racists in their midst. However, most choose not to share this on facebook, aka "the Chronicles of Narcissus."

What has long troubled me, particularly since this is now 2015, exactly 150 years after the Civil War ended, is that almost all of the football and basketball players at the major universities are black, while the fans, including the student sections, still are mostly white.

We're a nation of hypocrites because we want the black athletes to make all that money for the schools, we just don't want them in the stands or attending the college if they're not athletes. Less than 5 percent of the OU student body is African-American.

Yes, we have an African-American president, but the fault-lines in the racial divide since his two elections have deepened and widened in this country.

Don't blame President Obama. He's bent over backwards, to the chagrin of some in the black community, to avoid the racial issues of the day.

It's encouraging that David Boren, the white president of the University of Oklahoma, acted so swiftly, definitively and correctly. Unfortunately, judging by the racist online comments, he'll get a dose of what President Obama has endured when the death threats start rolling in.

This racial episode in Oklahoma is a manifestation of how our white members of Congress and some members of the media have treated President Obama. The frat boys must have thought it was all okay.

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Bend, Oregon weather

The view from Bend, Oregon

Bend may be the middle of nowhere, but that's how we like it. While the city has pockets of progressives here and there, the town leans right. But the tide is turning. And, as a true left-hander, I welcome the change.